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<metadesc>Book review siteExpert, with books full book reviews from most walks of literary life; fiction, biography, crimenon-fiction, cookery and children's books & self-published books plus author interviews and & top tens.</metadesc><h1 id="mf-title">The Bookbag</h1>Hello from The Bookbag, a site featuring books from all the many walks of literary life - [[:Category:Fiction|fiction]], [[:Category:Biography|biography]], [[:Category:Crime|crime]], [[:Category:Cookery|cookery]] and anything else that takes our fancy. At Bookbag Towers the bookbag sits at the side of the desk. It's the bag we take to the library and the bookshop. Sometimes it holds the latest releases, but at other times there'll be old favourites, books for the children, books for the home. They're sometimes our own books or books from the local library. They're often books sent to us by publishers and we promise to tell you exactly what we think about them. You might not want to read through a full review, so we'll give you a quick review which summarises what we felt about the book and tells you whether or not we think you should buy or borrow it. There are also lots of [[:Category:Interviews|author interviews]], and all sorts of [[:Category:Lists|top tens]] - all of which you can find on our [[features]] page. If you're stuck for something to read, check out the [[Book Recommendations|recommendations]] page. We can even direct you to help for [https://www.easywritingservice.com/custom-book-review/ custom book reviews]! Visit [http://www.everychildareader.org www.everychildareader.org] to get free writing tips and [http://www.genecaresearchreports.com www.genecaresearchreports.com] will help you get your paper written for free.

Reviews by readers from all the many walks of literary life. With author interviews, features and top tens. You'll be sure to find something you'll want to read here. Dig in! Find us on [[File:facebook.gif|link=https://www.facebook.com/TheBookbagCoUk|alt=Facebook]] [https://www.facebook.com/TheBookbagCoUk '''Facebook'''], [[File:twitter.gif|link=http://twitter.com/TheBookbag|alt=Follow us on Twitter]] [http://twitter.com/TheBookbag '''Twitter'''], [[File:instagram_classic_logo.png|link=https://www.instagram.com/thebookbag.co.uk/|alt=Follow us on Instagram]] [https://www.instagram.com/thebookbag.co.uk/ '''Instagram'''] and [[File:LinkedIn.png|link=https://www.linkedin.com/in/the-bookbag-1b12a264/|alt=LinkedIn]] There are currently '''{{PAGESINCATEGORY:Reviews}}''' [[:Category:Reviews|reviews ]] at TheBookbag.

==Reviews of the The Best New Books==

 '''Read [[:Category:Features|the latest features]].'''<!-- Remove -->{{newreviewFrontpage|authorisbn=Neal Zetter and Chris White1635866847|title=Here Come the SuperheroesThe Lavender Companion|author=Jessica Dunham and Terry Barlin Vesci|rating=4.5|genre=Children's Rhymes and Verse Lifestyle|summary=IIt'm quite sure s strange, the things that make you're well aware of 'immediately'' feel that this is the spate of superhero movies doing book for you. Before I started reading ''The Lavender Companion'', I visited the rounds these days, with any author's [https://www.pinelavenderfarm.com/ website] and every star there's a picture of the comics page seemingly a slice of chocolate cake on the big screen – homepage. I don't eat cakes and the smalldesserts - but I wanted that cake viscerally. They(There're everywheres a recipe in the book, which I'm avoiding with some difficulty!!) Then I started reading the book and their numbers I was told to make a mess of it. Notes in the margins are only growingsanctioned. But here is a unique chance You get to meet a few more – Mega Slug, Micro Girl, Magnetic Me, Sister Speed – even one calling himself fold down the Ultimate Superherocorners of pages. But we're You suspect that smears of butter would not meeting them in be a well-established comic universe, or with some horrid and convoluted back storyproblem. No, weI ''loved''re being introduced to them all in the format of verse – and for the young superhero and/or poetry fan this clearly has an instant appealbook already.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1909991465</amazonuk>

{{newreviewFrontpage|author=Peter SchossowJenny Valentine|title=Where is Grandma?Us in the Before and After

|genre=Emerging ReadersTeens|summary=Meet HenryElk and Mab are best friends, or more than that even, their friendship is a once in a lifetime connection. HeThey meet as children one day on a trip out but unfortunately they don's a young lad being taken by a nanny to hospital to check up on his grandma, whot get each other's in having had an accidentcontact details at the time. It's a shame, But thenchance brings them back together, that said nanny is so busy yacking into her phone to look after him, for he ends up going off on his own adventure to find his granand they are inseparable. And what an adventure – babies being born Something has happened though, people with stomach problemssomething terrible and tragic, chemoand now they must work through their grief, beans stuck up and their nose… all life is here in this hospitalfriendship, and both that and the lad's mishap are clearly and very pleasantly conveyedtogether.|amazonukisbn=<amazonuk>1776571541</amazonuk>1471196585

{{newreviewFrontpage|authorisbn=Andrea Beaty and David Roberts1787333175|title=Iggy PeckYou Don's Big Project Book for Amazing Architectst Have to be Mad to Work Here|author=Benji Waterhouse|rating=45|genre=Children's Non-FictionPopular Science|summary=Out of all the things I wanted was tempted to read ''You Don't Have to be as a child, an architect was not one of them. Which Mad to Work Here'' after enjoying Adam Kay's first book {{amazonurl|isbn=1509858636|title=This is a shameGoing to Hurt}}, perhaps – I might have had a few Prince Charles-friendly ideas under my beltglorious mixture of insight into the workings of the NHS, humour and even if I hadnautobiography. 't exactly progressed at that I might have been more at ease at those stupid team-bonding 'build-a-this-or-thatYou Don' exercises you are sometimes forced t Have to undergo as an adultbe Mad. I never knew I would ever hold any importance in my ability ..'' promised the same elements but moved from physical problems to draw buildings, conceptualise towns mental illness and create model structures the work of my own creations – partly because I knew I had no abilitya psychiatrist. But I did wonder whether it was acceptable to be looking for humour in this setting but the likes of Iggy Peck, the whole idea laughter is never in doubt – he spends his entire time thinking of buildings directed at a situation rather than a person and how to improve on the ones he knows. And so, for the duration of your engagement it is always delivered with these pages, will youempathy and understanding.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1419718924</amazonuk>

{{newreviewFrontpage|author= Matthew SmithMariana Enriquez|title= The WakingA Sunny Place for Shady People|rating= 5|genre= Literary FictionShort Stories|summary=Isabel SykesMariana Enriquez writes horror that is disturbingly real, 23, recounts the recent attempt she made to come to terms with the loss of achieving this uncanny familiarity by basing her paranormal plots on gritty realities: her mother, the acclaimed but psychologically disturbed novelist Marianne Sykes. Marianne died in settings include an unexplained house fire when Isabel was ten. Inspired by the appearance abandoned field full of Imogen Taylordisused refrigerators due to an urban planning mishap, an enchanting young woman who wants to write overcrowded homeless shelter and a PhD on her mother's work, Isabel plunges into the depths crime-ridden neighbourhood where safety meetings are routine - all within Argentina. The circumstances of her past and an intense new friendship. After discovering characters are so plausible that Imogen is not who she seems to be, Isabel must face the darkest moments from her childhood in order to protect her family from more tragedy. She receives unexpected help from beyond the grave: in the strange, glittering fragments of her mother's last, unfinished work, 'Midnightsong'supernatural or otherworldly horror which seeps into these spaces adopts a similarly tangible texture.|amazonukisbn=<amazonuk>0995654158</amazonuk>1803511230

{{newreviewFrontpage|author= Ruth EasthamOnyi Nwabineli|title= The Warrior in the MistAllow Me to Introduce Myself|rating= 4.5|genre= Confident ReadersGeneral Fiction|summary= Fracking is a big issue in some parts of Anuri spent her childhood on display to the countryworld, particularly in the north, and for Aidanthanks to her step-mother Ophelia's increasingly popular presence on social media, it means not only the destruction where she posted every step of the countryside he loves but a huge change in his life. Once they start blasting, his dad will lose his job caring for a rich landownerAnuri's horseschildhood for sponsorships and influencer deals and, basically, monetary gain. Now Anuri is in her twenties and he she is slowly trying to regain her confidence and Aidan will have to leave their home and their friends get her life back, suing her step-mother to live seventeen floors up in a tower blocktake down the content about her. But despite the protesters' determined efforts the blasting Anuri is going aheadbattling alcoholism, failing to start her PhD, undergoing therapy and there secretly abusing people online and receiving money from them for doing so. Most importantly, she is only one smalldesperately worried about her little sister, faint hope – find who is the tomb new focus of the warrior queen BoudiccaOphelia's online empire. Can she save her sister, reputedly slaughtered nearby by and perhaps herself and her relationship with her father at the Romans in AD 61, so the area can be declared a World Heritage Site. same time?|amazonukisbn=<amazonuk>191134238X</amazonuk>0861546873

{{newreviewFrontpage|author= Gabrielle ZevinDavid Chadwick|title= Young Jane YoungHeadload of Napalm|rating= 4.5|genre= General FictionThrillers|summary=Aviva Grossman, an ambitious Congressional intern It's September 1973 in Florida, makes the life-changing mistake of having an affair with her boss - who is belovedHicks, admired, successful, and very married - and blogging about itCalifornia. When the affair comes to light, the Congressman doesn't take the fall, but Aviva does, and her life Hicks is over before it hardly begins. She becomes a late-night talk show punchline; she is slut-shamed, labelled as fat Mojave desert town of a few thousand people with its nearest neighbours of LA and ugly, and considered Las Vegas both a blight on politics in generalsignificant drive away.How does one go on after this? In Aviva's case, she sees no way out but to change her name and move to a remote town Not much happens in MaineHicks. She starts over as a wedding planner, tries to be smarter about her life, A silver mine and to raise her daughter to be strong and confident.But when, at the urging of others, she decides to run for public office herself, that long-ago mistake trails her via the Internet like a scarlet A. These days, Google guarantees that defence contractor are the past is nevermain local employers but otherwise, ever, truly past, that everything you've done will live on for everyone to know about for all eternity. And itthere's only a matter not much of time until Aviva/Jane's daughter, Ruby, finds out who her mother was, note other than dive bars and Joshua trees. Life isquiet, and must decide whether she can still respect heruntil....|amazonukisbn=<amazonuk>1408709805</amazonuk>B0D321VJ76

{{newreviewFrontpage|author= Jon BurgermanTom Percival|title= Rhyme CrimeThe Wrong Shoes|rating= 5|genre= For SharingConfident Readers|summary= Sometimes books Will's life is difficult, in a multitude of ways. He is bullied because he has 'the wrong shoes', he has the wrong shoes because his dad can't work and doesn't have enough money for sharing need to be calm even the most basic of things like food, and gentlehis dad can't work because he lost his job at the college, soporific evenwas working a cash-in-hand job on a building site and had an accident. Throw into that mix the fact that his mum and dad are separated, to lure little ones under the duvet and off to sleepWill's life seems bleak in every direction. And sometimes books need to be utterly zanyyet, full he still has a tiny amount of bright colourshope. He is good at art, daft doodle-style illustrations and crazy rhymes for clings to the child to shout out loud. Pleasemoments of joy when he is drawing, dear parent, do not try to read this wonderful book to your offspring within an hour or two that feel like a light at the end of lights out. Seriouslya long, be warned - You Will Regret Itdark tunnel. |amazonukisbn=<amazonuk>0192749501</amazonuk>1398527122

{{newreviewFrontpage|author= Ali SmithSylvie Cathrall|title= AutumnA Letter to the Luminous Deep|rating= 5|genre= Literary Science Fiction|summary= The first part in Ali Smith's four part 'Seasonal' series, Autumn is the story of Daniel Gluck and Elisabeth Demand, unexpected friends who used There are few greater joys than a book which lives up to be neighbours when Elisabeth was a little girlcompelling premise. In a series of memories and dreams, we discover their friendship from Daniel babysitting Elisabeth through to her visits with him now that he And this is in a home and drawing towards the end of his extremely long and fascinating life. Along the way, we get a wonderfully written insight into time, memories, and the fleeting nature one of life itselfthem. |amazonukisbn=<amazonuk>0241973317</amazonuk>0356522776

{{newreviewFrontpage|authorisbn=John Van der Kiste1786482126|title=Electric Light Orchestra: Song by SongThe Janus Stone (Dr Ruth Galloway)|author=Elly Griffiths

|genre=ReferenceCrime|summary=My memories of pop music Builders were demolishing an old house in Norwich - the early sixties revolve around guitars and drumssite was going to hold seventy-five 'luxury' apartments - when they discovered the bones of a child beneath a doorway. There was no skull. Was this a ritual killing or murder? Inevitably, sometimes the piano Dr Ruth Galloway finds herself working with only occasional excursions into strings and brassDCI Harry Nelson. Pop music rarely stands still and it wasnIt't long before the basic instruments were seens s difficult as constraints and The BeatlesRuth knows, The Rolling Stones and The Beach Boys began to experimentbut Nelson doesn't, that she is pregnant with other groups following where his child as a result of the one night they ledspent together some three months ago. Amongst these groups was The Move and their lead guitarist and songwriterHer condition will be obvious before long, Roy Wood. Wood wanted not least because Ruth is prone to develop the group's sound by adding more instruments but was prevented from achieving what he wanted by cost limitations and because the rest sudden bouts of the group didn't really share his enthusiasmsickness.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781556008</amazonuk>

{{newreviewFrontpage|author=Ruth LaurenJoan Didion|title=Prisoner The Year of Ice and SnowMagical Thinking|rating=4.5|genre=TeensAutobiography|summary= Valor This book is under arrest for the attempted assassination of Anatol, DemidovaJoan Didion's Crown Prince. Queen Ana is furious and sentences Valor to life imprisonment in Tyur'ma - a brutal prison constructed heartbreaking autobiographical account of stone and ice...... it's not sounding too great for Valor, is it? But the thing is, this is exactly what grief she had been hoping for and she's even prepared to risk endured following her parents' respected positions at Demidovahusband's court sudden death. Books that shed light on taboo topics like death are such a beautiful and necessary resource to achieve ithelp people feel less alone. Because Valor's sister Sasha is already in Tyur'ma Didion unpicks unpleasant feelings surrounding death like self- accused of stealing a national treasure vital to cementing a peace treaty between Demidova pity, denial and delusion and makes them utterly normal, lends them a neighbouring nation. Valor is convinced of her sister's innocence and intends human face to break her outwear.|amazonukisbn=<amazonuk>1408872757</amazonuk>0007216858

{{newreviewFrontpage|authorisbn=Emma Dibdin0008551324|title=The Room by the LakeDevil You Know (D S Max Craigie)|author=Neil Lancaster

|genre=ThrillersCrime|summary= What would life be like if you just packed up your things and left? This is a thought that It's unusual for anyone from the Hardie family to approach the main protagonist Caitlyn police. Neither side likes or has been mulling over any respect for a while now but has never had the guts to do, until she reaches the final straw when her father fails at sobriety once againother. After throwing her phone But Davie Hardie is struggling in a river, Caitlyn takes herself prison and he's prepared to tell the airport police where she ends up getting the body of a plane to New Yorkmissing person is buried and who was responsible for her death. From there her life completely changes as she meets Jake who seems to This person, he promises, is someone big and it will be just worth the police doing what she needshe wants. As they grow closer she And what he wants is invited to meet be transferred to an open prison to serve the remainder of his family, butsentence and to get an early parole date. Not much to ask, in a house surrounded by forest that is miles away from civilisation, family takes on a whole it? The new meaning. There you live by the motto Deputy Police Constable doesn't think so and she'we are here for each s even prepared to do the other, thing that Hardie demanded - make certain that DS Max Craigie and we are nothing without each other'anyone who works with him is kept well away from what's happening.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1786694026</amazonuk>

{{newreviewFrontpage|authorisbn= Cas Lester1739526910|title= Do You Speak Chocolate?Where I've Not Been Lost|author=Glen Sibley|rating= 4.5|genre= Confident ReadersGeneral Fiction|summary= When ''One year after a new girl arrives at Jazsuicide attempt blows apart musician Brian O’Malley's school she is delighted and warms life, he arrives in an unfamiliar Devon town to her immediatelyrecover. The only problem is that Nadima does not speak any English Living with an unexpected housemate at allhis former manager’s holiday home, he dreams of reconnecting with everything he has lost. However Jaz is the type of girl who is not going to let this get in her way and But as those tentative plans falter, he becomes swept up in her typical straightforward manner determines to make sure that this friendship blossoms. Initially this appears to have worked and the girls bond through a shared love local world of musicunlikely friendships, movies mobile discos and food, especially chocolate! But then difficulties, misunderstandings and past traumas get in the way and Jaz struggles to cope with the consequencessurprising romantic possibilities.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1471405036</amazonuk>''

{{newreviewFrontpage|authorisbn= Henrietta Rose-Innes0008405026|title= Green LionA Stranger in the Family (Maeve Kerrigan 11)|author=Jane Casey|rating= 45|genre= General FictionCrime|summary= The opening of It''Green Lion'' is an apparently simple premise; s sixteen years since nine-year-old Rosalie Marshall disappeared from her bed one summer night. She was never found and the investigation ground to a young South African man, Conhalt. Now, is tasked with picking up the belongings of an old friendher mother, MarkHelena, who is lying and her father are dead in a coma in hospitaltheir bed. Mark worked at Initially, it looks like a small zoo with a rare black-maned lioness, who mauled him straightforward murder/suicide but there's something about the positioning of the bodies that makes DS Maeve Kerrigan and caused the comaher boss DI Josh Derwent suspicious. However, What looked as the story unfolds, Rosethough it was going to be an open-and-Innes reveals an unflinching embrace of shut case is now a complex double murder. Kerrigan is convinced that the messiness of human and animal lifeexplanation lies in Rosalie's disappearance: others (such as Derwent's boss, and their troubled interactionsUna Burt) are less convinced. |amazonuk=<amazonuk>1910709255</amazonuk>

{{newreviewFrontpage|authorisbn= Tim Akers1529077745|title= The Iron HoundDark Wives (D I Vera Stanhope)|author=Ann Cleeves|rating= 4.5|genre= FantasyCrime|summary=Ruling with an iron handA man walking his dog in the early morning discovered the body of a man in the park near Rosebank, a care home for troubled teens. The dead man was Josh - one of the Church has eliminated care workers who was due to work a shift the ancient pagan waysnight before but who had never turned up. Yet demonic gheists terrorise D I Vera Stanhope is called in to investigate the murder - but her only clue is the land, hunted by disappearance of one of the Inquisitionresidents, while agefourteen-year-old hatreds rage between Chloe Spencer. Some people believe that Chloe was responsible for the north and death but Vera thinks this is unlikely as the southgirl's diary makes it clear that she adored Josh. Three heroes Malcolm and Ian Blakeley and Gwendolyn Adair must end the bloodshed before chaos is unleashedShe knows that she has to find Chloe to discover what happened to Josh.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1783299509</amazonuk>

{{newreviewFrontpage|authorisbn= Gerard Cheshire1399613073|title= A History of Victorian PostageMoral Injuries|author=Christie Watson|rating= 4.5|genre= HistoryThrillers|summary=Although we think Olivia, Laura and Anjali met on the first day of postage medical school and the sending their friendship would keep them inseparable for a quarter of letters as a specifically Victorian innovation, its roots go far deeper than thatcentury. This book Olivia is ruthlessly ambitious, which surveys is a bonus when you aim to be a cardiothoracic surgeon. Laura is a perfectionist and a much broader time frame than trauma doctor. Anjali is the title might suggest, presents us with an admirably concise picture free spirit of its development up the group and she becomes a GP. When we first meet them they're at a drug and alcohol-fuelled party and it's going to its full fruition end in tragedy. We don't know who suffered the midtragedy or the consequences. Twenty-nineteenth centuryfive years later there will be an eerily similar event that will impact the three friends. This time, it's their teenage children who are involved.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1445664372</amazonuk>

{{newreviewFrontpage|authorisbn= Georgiana Deutsch and Ekaterina Trukhan0241636604|title= 10, 9, 8... Owls Up Late! The Trading Game: A Confession|author=Gary Stevenson|rating= 4.5|genre= For SharingAutobiography|summary= It's tough being If you were to bring up an image of a mother owl. Rather than just one or two rambunctious little ones to calm down ready for bedcity banker in your mind, she has ten of them! And thereyou's so much going on in her tree that she must sometimes despair re unlikely to think of ever getting them to sleepsomeone like Gary Stevenson. But gradually A hoodie and jeans replaces the pin-stripe suit and his background is the East End, one by onewhere he was familiar with violence, poverty and injustice. There was no posh public school on his CV - but he had been to the owlets' eyes begin to droop London School of Economics. Stevenson is bright - extremely bright - and they make their way he has a facility with numbers which most of us can only envy. He also realised that most rich people expect poor people to their comfy little nest until be stupid. It was his ability at last what was, essentially, a card game which got him an internship with Citibank. Eventually, this turned into permanent employment as a trader. . zzzzzz! |amazonuk=<amazonuk>184869704X</amazonuk>

{{newreviewFrontpage|author=Isabel Otter and Maxime LebrunLeanne Egan|title=My First Wild Activity BookLover Birds

|genre=Children's Non-FictionTeens|summary=You sit down together as a family and ask your child what they would like When new girl, Isabel, moves to read Lou's hometown of Liverpool from your bulging bookcaseLondon Lou immediately feels Isabel's disdain for everything around her. Will they choose the timeless classic A misunderstanding between them leaves them hating each other, but Lou feels her pulse racing every time she looks at Isabel or speaks with her, and that you yourself read as a child's definitely because Isabel makes her feel so cross, isn't it? Perhaps they will pluck for a modern tale with its dayglo colouring and storyline based around pantsBecause Lou is straight, isn't she? Nope. Neither Even though none of these. All you will hear is ''Stickers!'her relationships with boys have gone very well so far, and she' s never had a good kiss with any of them? Your child would rather play So she just finds herself watching Isabel, and wanting to hang out with a sticker activity book than read her because fighting with youher is fun, so best make it a worthwhile sticker activity book.and she definitely just hates Isabel, doesn't she?|amazonukisbn=<amazonuk>1848575726</amazonuk>000862657X

{{newreviewFrontpage|authorisbn=Jenny Oldfield1009473085|title=Storm CloudThe Conservative Effect 2010 - 2024|author=Anthony Seldon and Tom Egerton (Editors)|rating=45|genre=Dyslexia FriendlyPolitics and Society|summary=Kami Miller was invited Sometimes it's simpler to stay at Wolf Ridge Farm, the home of her best friend Macy Lucas, for the summer. They were both going to be working as real cowgirls explain a book by describing what it ''isn't'' and there was a herd of 300 cows that applies to be brought back from the mountains to the ranch''The Conservative Effect: 2010-2024 - 14 Wasted Years?''. It wasnIf you't going to be re looking for an easy workread which will deliver the inside story about what ''really'' happened on certain occasions, particularly as Macy's father was recovering from an accident and couldnthen this isn't ridethe book for you. All the pressure of running the ranch has fallen on MacyIf that's brotherwhat you're looking for, Wes - and heI don't think Anthony Seldon's not coping wellbook, {{amazonurl|isbn=B0BH7SKG2S|title=Johnson at 10}}, can be bettered for those tumultuous years. KamiIt's upset that hea compelling read and should be compulsory for anyone who thinks Johnson should return to politics. ''The Conservative Effect'' is an entirely different beast. It's taking it out on one the seventh book in a series which looks at the impact a government has made and co-editor Sir Anthony Seldon regards this as the most important. This book follows the well-established format: a series of experts from various fields review the state of the young coltsnation when the coalition took over in 2010, Storm Cloud, but what can she do about it?|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781126895</amazonuk>the changes that occurred and the situation in 2024.

{{newreviewFrontpage|author= Clare DonoghueMax Boucherat|title= The Night StalkerLast Life of Lori Mills|rating= 4.5|genre= CrimeConfident Readers|summary=DI Mike Lockyer and his preferred sidekick DS Jane Bennett are back We meet Lori on the first evening she's got the house to herself – but this time not no neighbour to pop in, babysitter poorly, mother at work, just an avidly rule-breaking eleven year old, on home turfher lonesome. Lewisham's finest are sent What could possibly go wrong? Snuggled in a blanket fort, she has one main intention, and that is to log on to Voxminer, the country for this outing. There's been world-building, critter-collecting game that is a death down hit in Somerset. ItLori's not the sort of thing youworld. But first Lori has a tiny inkling that this stormy night doesn'd expect t find herself entirely on her own, and then she finds something even more spooky. For the regional murder squad server she and her bestie and nobody else should be able to get involved inenter shows signs of tampering. When malevolent eyes spark up on her phone screen, it looks like a hit-and-run on a remote road her safe place in the Quantocksgame has been doctored – well, probably just some drunk driving where is a big four-by-four who didn't even know he'd done it.girl to turn?|amazonukisbn=<amazonuk>1447284747</amazonuk>0008666482

{{newreviewFrontpage|author= Nicola PryceFyodor Dostoyevsky|title= The Captain's GirlWhite Nights|rating= 45|genre= Historical FictionShort Stories|summary=Last year, Bookbag reviewed, and thoroughly enjoyed, [[Pengelly's Daughter by Nicola Pryce|Pengelly's Daughter]], a swashbuckling historical romance set As always in picturesque Cornwall. Now we have the pleasure of reading the much-anticipated sequel. This timeDostoyevsky, the story focuses on a neighbour of the Polcarrow family, Miss Celia Cavendish, who has been engaged to a cruel man that she does not lovecharacter work is sublime. One fateful night, she runs away to the Polcarrow house to beg them for help, is never left wondering what a character is thinking or feeling because Dostoyevsky lays bare their innermost dispositions and the pivotal events of that night have far-reaching consequences for all involvedtemperaments with remarkable clarity.|amazonukisbn=<amazonuk>1782398856</amazonuk>0241619785

{{newreviewFrontpage|authorisbn= C Robert Cargill0008385068|title= Sea of RustThe Midnight Feast|author=Lucy Foley|rating= 4.5|genre= Science FictionThrillers|summary=Have you ever watched It's midsummer on the Dorset coast and guests gather at The Manor. It's their opening weekend and splendid celebrations are promised. It'Terminators all headed up by Francesca Meadows. The Manor was her ancestral home and she'' movies or some similar 'Robo-geddon' franchise s converted it into an impressive retreat for the wealthy and wondered what would have happened if the robots had actually ''won?'' Well wonder no morefamous. Her husband, Owen, because ''Sea of Rust'' hinges on that exact premise; a world where was the robots have wiped out every living thing from planet earth. Only artificial life remains; there architect and work is no trace still ongoing on parts of organic matter anywhere, since the robot uprising that devastated the planetsite. Now two huge mainframes compete for world domination: CISSUS The heat is oppressive and VIRGILamongst the guests are enemies as well as friends. They capture robots Old scores are going to be settled and turn them into drones; uploading their minds into a hive consciousness. The few remaining bots are called it won'freebots,' and inhabit t be long before a desert called the Sea of Rust, where they do what they can to survive, including cannibalising other bots for spare partsbody is found.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1473212782</amazonuk>

{{newreviewFrontpage|author=Michelle Robinson and Claire PowellJames Baldwin|title=Have You Seen My Giraffe?Giovanni's Room

|genre=For SharingLiterary Fiction |summary=Imagine''Giovanni's Room'' follows the narrator David, if you will, a world an American man living in which you no longer win goldfish at the fairParis, but you could potentially be coming home as he navigates his torturous affair with Giovanni, an Italian bartender he meets in a giraffe! This gay bar. While David is engaged to Hella, who is travelling in Spain, the situation that real tension in the novel arises not from his infidelity but from the family in this story find themselves in, deeper conflict within himself. It is David's crippling shame and it turns out denial of his sexuality that having a giraffe in your house may not go down too well ultimately dooms his relationship with your parents!Giovanni.|amazonukisbn=<amazonuk>0857075993</amazonuk>0141186356

{{newreviewFrontpage|authorisbn=Alexander McCall SmithB0DGDJRHYD|title=A Time of Love and TartanNowhere Man|author=Deborah Stone|rating=54

|summary=Here we are, back on Scotland Street, eager to see what everyone (especially Bertie…) has been up to! This is now the twelfth book in the Scotland Street series which is remarkable. That In a serial novel has such momentum, and that the characters within have become so very familiar to AMS's loyal readersquiet suburban house, Patrick is a testament to making his skills as a writerfinal plans. This time around our nerves are on edge as Pat ventures back towards a relationship with the dreadful Bruce! Surely she'll see sense...won't she?! MatthewA meticulous man, he makes sure of all peopleevery preparation, is in trouble with the police, Irene is busy planning a PhD, and Bertie? Could there be a happy ending for Bertie in the air?|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846973821</amazonuk>}}{{newreview|author= Martin Edwards (editor)|title= The Long Arm of the Law|rating= 4.5|genre= Crime|summary= When we think of the 'golden age' of crime fiction, we think of down to the brilliant amateur forever putting the official P.C. Plod to shamelast detail. Miss MarpleSome last reflections, Sherlock Holmes, Poirot, Father Brown and so on. I'll admit then he says goodbye to being a fan of all of thosehis wife, but they aren't the whole story. The other side of the coin shows the official police doing their job world, and getting their manhis life. |amazonuk=<amazonuk>0712356878</amazonuk>}}{{newreview|author= Katy Colins|title= Chasing the Sun|rating= 4|genre= WomenIt's Fiction|summary= Author Katy Colins became Britain's most famous jilted bride when the true story of horribly sad. At work in her shop, his wife Diana is fending off yet another phone call about her subsequent lonely hearts backpacking trip went viralageing and ailing mother, who needs extricating from yet another accident. It will be a while before becoming a romantic comedy book series with this the latest oneDiana realises what Patrick has done. |amazonuk=<amazonuk>0008202192</amazonuk>

{{newreviewFrontpage|author=Emilia Dziubak and Przemyslaw WechterowiczVirginie Despentes|title=The Secret Life of a TigerKing Kong Theory

|genre=For SharingAutobiography |summary=If David Attenborough has taught us anything ''King Kong Theory'' is that a lot goes on hard-hitting memoir and feminist manifesto, which can be seen as a call to arms for women in a phallocentric society broken at its core. Originally written in French, the natural world that we are unaware book is a collection of. Animals will hunt essays in interesting ways, or find which Virginie Despentes explores her experiences as a mate using secret danceswoman through the complex prism of her varied life: from rape to sex work and pornography. Though these discussions are intertwined, but did you know that Tigers sometimes sneak up on apes and give them new haircuts? You will be amazed with their placement within the revelations found in Emilia Dziubak and Przemyslaw Wechterowicz's bookcan feel somewhat disjointed, but I am not convinced that this kid's book is based on factsa reflection of their original form as independent essays.|amazonukisbn=<amazonuk>191027724X</amazonuk>191309734X

{{newreviewFrontpage|author= Steve Martin and Essi KimpimakiJames Baldwin|title= Scientist Academy: Are You Ready For the Challenge?Giovanni's Room|rating= 4.5|genre= Children's Non-Literary Fiction|summary=Kids seem to have an innate curiosity about the world around them. They are constantly asking ''How?Giovanni's Room' and ''Why?'' Curious kids and budding scientists are going follows the narrator David, an American man living in Paris, as he navigates his torturous affair with Giovanni, an Italian bartender he meets in a gay bar. While David is engaged to love Hella, who is travelling in Spain, the real tension in the novel arises not from his infidelity but from the new deeper conflict within himself. It is David''Scientist Academy'' book by Ivy Kids, which is filled with practical experiments s crippling shame and fun activities denial of his sexuality that ultimately dooms his relationship with an educational twistGiovanni.|amazonukisbn=<amazonuk>178240502X</amazonuk>0141186356

 {{newreviewFrontpage|author= Jess RichardsAshley Hickson-Lovence|title= City of CirclesWild East|rating= 4.5|genre= FantasyTeens|summary= Danu Written in verse, this is Ronny's story, a tightrope walker young black fourteen year old boy from Hackney who is mourning her parents, after a disease suddenly has ravaged the circus where she grew up. Her mother has entrusted her with to move to Norwich and start at a locket that hides a secretmostly white school. Over the years, Danu pushes away her grief and develops elaborate and successful high-wire acts with Morrie, a charismatic hunchback The move is initiated by Ronny's mum who wants to marry her. When the circus returns to Danuis worried for Ronny's birthplacesafety after a tragic event, Matryoshkaand so Ronny finds himself trying to settle in a new town, Danu is enchanted by the temples, spice mistsa new school, and pleasure seekers within the intoxicating outer circle districtkeep himself out of trouble. Here, she finally gains the courage He listens to open her mother's locketmusic constantly, and discovers the name has always dreamed of being a stranger who lives behind the locked gate of the Inner Circlerapper. Fated But now, in this new school, his teacher encourages him to remain in Matryoshkabe part of a poetry writing workshop group and, slowly, Danu attempts Ronny begins to resolve this mystery. Will she see the connections between rap and Morrie ever be reunitedpoetry, or will something far more unexpected be waiting for her in and the mysterious heart power of the city?creativity and crafting your words.|amazonukisbn=<amazonuk>1473656680</amazonuk>0241645441

{{newreviewFrontpage|author=Peter Bently and Charles FugeAlba de Cespedes |title=A Home Full of FriendsForbidden Notebook|rating=4.5|genre=For SharingLiterary Fiction|summary=Bramble Badger was out looking for nuts by the river when the storm broke This Italian work of feminist fiction holds an air of suspense and he was so cold that he decided to go straight home. On tension from the way he met a trail of devastation: Snuffle Dormouse's house has been squashed by a falling tree. She'd like shelter in Bramble's settmoment our protagonist, Valeria Cossati, purchases her forbidden notebook, if he has room. He's a ''little'' bit reluctant because he thinks his sett is in a mess and there isn't much space or dinner available, but what can you do when a friend is learns about herself in need? Next it's Tipper the Toad whose home is full of mud, then Boo the Hedgehog's nest has been covered by leavesmost intimate and revealing ways.|amazonukisbn=<amazonuk>144492057X</amazonuk>1782278222

{{newreviewFrontpage|author= Hunter DaviesOttessa Moshfegh|title=A Life in the Day: Memories of Sixties London, Lots My Year of Writing, The Beatles Rest and my Beloved WifeRelaxation|rating= 53|genre= AutobiographyLiterary Fiction|summary= Although I knew the name Hunter Davies before I picked At best, this book up, I was unaware just how pivotal novel is a figure scathing critique of modern society and reveals the Swinging Sixties Hunter Davies really wasfragility of human relationships; at worst, it is the cynical, predictable and slightly trite tale of an unlikeable protagonist. Take himThis unlikely heroine, Harold Wilson and a certain musical quartet from Liverpool out of the decadeslim, attractive and you are left newly orphaned girl in her twenties is disillusioned with a bit of a vacuumthe world, but resolves not to lose sleep over it: in fact, her solution lies in her hibernation. |amazonukisbn=<amazonuk>1471161293</amazonuk>1784707422

{{newreviewFrontpage|author= Ellie IrvingJo Callaghan|title= The Matilda EffectLeave No Trace|rating= 4.5|genre= Confident ReadersCrime|summary= When you're wrongeda man is found crucified on the top of a hill in Nuneaton, and you know you've been wrongedDCS Kat Frank finds herself assigned to the case alongside her sidekick, itthe AI detective Lock. It's the worst feeling in the worldtheir first live case together, having previously been very successful with several cold cases. When someone takes credit for something you have done But when there is a second body found crucified a few days later, claiming a prize that Kat is rightfully yours, it's suddenly struggling with a horrible, horrible injustice, potential serial killer and a very high profile case that's the same whether it's draws a Nobel Prize or simply the blue ribbon (and excessive amounts lot of dog food) given away at a school science fairunwanted attention to their AI Future Policing project. Now parents might tell you that life's not fair, you win some you lose some Will they be able to solve the case in time, or any of a number of clichéswill Kat find herself taken off the case and, but if your name is Matilda you just can't let it lie. Andpotentially, when she finds out that her granny was side-lined for of a much bigger award, for work she did 50 years ago, she makes it her mission to right the wrong and let the world know exactly what happened. career?|amazonukisbn=<amazonuk>0552568376</amazonuk>139851120X

{{newreview <!-- remove 24/8 -->Frontpage|isbn=B0DB64PYV5|title=My Psychosis Story: A Story of Fear and Hope Through AdversityThe White Rose|author=Emmanuel OwusuDave Baines

|genre=LifestyleDystopian Fiction|summary=''My Psychosis Story'' recounts Emmanuel Owusu's journey into and eventually out of psychosis. In late 20142033, during a visit home for Christmas, he found himself exhausted, anxious and unable to sleep. Symptoms persisted and soon he was suffering from noise sensitivity and intense headaches. Various visits to A&E failed to diagnose a physical cause. Things deteriorated further and possible diagnoses of anxiety and post traumatic concussion were suggestedsuperstorm known as the White Rose devastates the Northern Hemisphere. And ''still'' things got worse. Eventually, Owusuit's condition deteriorated so far not a storm that he was suffering from delusions and hallucinationsgathers, wreaks havoc, then dissipates. An ambulance was called Instead, it hovers across half the Earth with its octopus-like tentacles, not giving up and he was detained - sectioned - under the Mental Health Act in 2015never going away.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1524680559</amazonuk>